Railway car



- H. c. LIMA Feb. 7, 1939.

RAILWAY CAR iled Nov. l5, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY Feb. 7, 1939. Hfc. LIMA 2,146,436

RAILWAY'CR Filed Nov.15, 1955 we sheets-sheet s lNvEN-ro ATTORNEY Fb. 7,'1939. H. c, LIMA l `2,145,436

y RAILWAY CAR y Y' Filed Nov. y15, 1935 l 6 sheets-sheet 4 F eb; 7, 1939.

RAILWAY CAR Fi-led NCQ. 15, 1955 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 INV NTOR f Y I TToRNEY 4 Feb?, 1939. y H AUMA 2,146,436v

RAILWAY CAR Filed Nov. l5, 1935 6 Sheets-Sheet@ Patented' Feb.. 7, 1939 v.UNITED STATES PATENT LoFElcE v .amaze i RAILWAY can Henry C. Lima, Flushing, N. Y., assignor of onefourth to Max W. Davis, Conn.l

Application November 15, 1935, Serial No. 49,939

scmmazictzu-ss) construction whereby any section or the entire side of a car may be opened for loading or unloading the car, or any section thereof, and in `which there is mechanical means for opening any lo section of the side of the car. and mechanical means for moving the load from the car to a platform or moving a load from the'platform to the car as a unit to facilitate loading and unloading and to greatly reduce the time-required l for these operations. a

It is also an'object to provide a construction in which the side of the car is divided into a plurality of doors so constructed and arranged that vanyone or all of them can be lowered to bridge .the space between the car and a platform and form a support whereby a carrier for a load can be moved from the car to the platform or from the platform to the car. #It is also an object to provide individually controlled mechanical means for operating the doors and also mechanism for moving the containers between the car and platform and vice versa.

This and other objects will becomeapparent as the description proceeds, reference being had to the accompanying drawings showing various applications of the invention, it being understood various modifications and arrangements may be used without departing from the principles of the invention.

` In these drawings 1 y Fig. 1 is a side elevationof a freight car showing one form of my invention applied thereto, parts being broken away to more clearly show the construction; e Fig. 2 is a transversesection substantially on line 2-2 of Fig.` 3;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical 'section of one.

end portion of the car taken substantially o n line 3-3 of Fig. 2; l Fig. 4 is a transverse section similar to Fig. 2

showing a modified construction.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of one end portion of the car showing the construction of F154;

Fig. 6 is a transversesectionshowing a` some- .50 what different arrangement and taken substantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 7;`

Fig. 'z is a.` horizontal longitudinaif section or one end .portion of the car of Fig. 6 and showing e in plan anarrangement -fmechanismwhich may be used for operating the doors and loading,

and unloading the car in all the forms shown, portions being broken away to more clearly show the construction, the sectionV being substantially g on line 1--1 of Fig, 6;

Fig. 7a is a detail of an automatic throwout 5 Cam.

m. a is a transverse section showing a-rurther modiiication taken substantially on line 8-8 i of Fig. 7;

Fig. 9 is a side elevation thereof with parts l0* broken away to more clearly show the construc-v tion;

10 is a vertical section showing stillenother arrangement; and

Fig. 11 shows another modification. l5

In the drawings I have not attempted to show all the details of constructions, but the devices are shown more or less diagrammatically for simplicity and clearness. The same fundamental principles are employed in all the forms, but 20 several modifications are shown by way of examples. j n i Inv all forms the car, such as a freight car of standard length and size has, in eifect, its freight carrying space divided into sections and there are 25 doors on opposite sides of the car for each section so each section if desired can be loaded or unloaded independently of each other section. There is mechanism for operating the doors of each section independently of the other sections 30 and also mechanism whereby the goods or freight may be loaded into or unloaded from each section independently of the other sections. It is also preferred thatv thel mechanisms 'be either controlled from a single control station at oneend 35 of the car or that one half be controlled from a control station at one end ofthe car and the other half from a similar station at the other end.

There is shown `in Fig. 1 a freight carV lll of standard size 'whose freight `space is in eect 40 divided into four sections Il, l2, Il and il although the spaces of the various sections are-not ordinarily separated by partitions, but they may be if desired. The opposite sides of each section are composed offdoors I! forming the' side walls 45- of the car. l i

Various constructions and arrangements of `tl'iese doors may be used. In the `form of Figs. `1, 2" and V3 the doors l5 are in two sections, an

upper section I6 and a-lowersection l1 pivoted 50 together `at lilso that the upper section may be folded down onto the lower section. The lower section l1 :shinged tothe car at its lwe'x` edge #by any'suitable means such as hinges i9. Therel may be an-upright beam or stanchion 2l between each pair of doors to support the roof of the -car and also assist in supporting the doors` in the closed position, or this stanchion may be used only between. the doors for the two central sections I2 and I3. These stanchions are A.removably mounted by any suitable means such as hooks or bolts so that one or more may be removednif it is desirable to load or'unload any article which is longer than a single section. Or if preferred their ends may be slidably mounted in guides at the top and bottom edges of the door openings so that when the doors are lowered to'- open position the stanchions may be slid out of the way toward the end of the car. In thisway two or more sections may 4be loaded or unloaded at one time, or the whole side of the car may be opened. l

Thus as shown in Fig. 2 one or more doors on a side of the car may be lowered, the outer end ofthe lower section I1 resting on a loading or the doors, but it is preferred that the goods be loaded in containers or crates indicated at 22 ready to load into the car as a unit and placed on a carrier 23 on suitable wheels or rollers so that it can be run as a unit into and out of the car over the door. To facilitate this operation the car may be provided with rails 25 pivoted or hinged inside the car as indicated at 26 so that after the door has been let down these rails may be also let down on top of the dooras shown and form tracks on which the wheels 24 of the carrier may run. They` are shown as channel bars but may be other shapes if foundv desirable.

The floor of the car is also provided with similar rails 21 in alignment with the rails 25 onto which the carrier is run, and on which the flanges retain the carrier when the car is in transit. As shown the carrier 23 is preferably set into or recessed into the bottom of the container or crate 22 as shown at 28 so the container or crate is effectively retained `on the carrier in the loading and unloading operations as well as when the car is in motion.

Mechanism is provided for raising and lower-I ing the doors and also for shifting the carrier 23 with its crate or container into and out of the car, and these same mechanisms can be employed for operating the doors or closures and the carriers `for the various modifications of the car constructions and arrangements shown. In the arrangement illustrated there are two power operated cables for operating feach door in each section. There are also in each section power operated cables for moving the carrier for lthe goods intothe carfrom the loading platform at cach side of the car and power operated cables `for moving the carrier from the carto a platform at either side ofthe car. In the arrangement of Figs. 1, 2 and 3 cables 29 are connected tothe upper'section i6 of the door'at each side thereof adjacent its upper edge at 30 by any suitable means such as links 30a and run over guide y pulleys 3| carried bythe framework ofthe roof of the car to drums 32 under the door of the car and driven by mechanism to raise and lower the doorsl as will presently be described. The other ends 29a ofthe cables after passing around the drums are alsoconnected to the links 30a aty 30h. The doors may be locked in their closed positions by any suitable locking means.

For shifting the carrier 23 and its container 22 out ofthe car to the platform 2| a pair of cables 34 is provided from winding drums 35 under the floor of the car. There are also provided guide pulleys 36 on the pivoted rails 25. When these rails are` lowered the'cables 34 running around the pulleys 36 may be connected to the rear portion of carrier 23 by a hook 31 on the ends of the cable being hooked into an eye 38 on the carrier. 'Ihen by operating the drums 35 (by mechanism presently to be described) to Wind up the cables the carrier will be run out of the car from the dotted line position of Fig. 2 to the full" line position on the ,platform and left-there to be unloaded at the convenience of the consignee.

To move the 'carrier 23 and its container into the car is an4 equally simple operation. In this with its container is drawn into the car to the4 dotted line position. Then the doors l5 may be closed by means of the drums 32 and the cables 29 and sealed. It will be noted the drums 32 for operating the doors at the left hand side of the car is located adjacent that side and the drums 32 for operating the doors on the right hand side of the car are located adjacent that side. However, the drums 35 for moving the carrier out of and into the left side of theI car is located adjacent the right hand side and vice versa. A small guide pulley 40 may be used for y cable 34 to keep it in position when rails 25 are in the upper position. These rails will be raised tuo this position when the door is raised or they may be raised and lowered by hand or by cables 29. They may be secured in their raised positions by any suitable means such for example as the hooks 4l lpivoted to the rails at 42 and havin g a. hook 43 at their upper ends to hook into a member of the roof framing.

A plan view of a mechanism for operating the doors andzcarriers for all the different modications illustrated is shown in plan View in Fig. 7, although in that figure it is shown withA the door arrangement of Fig. 6l instead of that of Figs. 2 and 3. At any suitable location on the car is one or more motors 44. There are preferably'two motors mounted one adjacent each end of the car, one motor being used to operate the doors and carriers for the two sections of the car adjacent thatend, although the motor at one end may be used for operating all the doors and carriers., for the car. The motor 4,4 is shown as an electric motorbut may be any iother suitable type of motor such as air, water,

etc., or if preferred the mechanisms may be operated by hand cranks through suitable gearlng. Running longitudinally of the car prefe'rably substantially centrally thereof under the floor of the car is a maindriv shaft 45 driven from the motor 44 by anysuit'ablereducing drive such for example as a chain drive 46, operating Aover suitable sprockets'fon the motor shaft'and shaft 43. Any other suitable type of drive such Y as gearingmay be used if preferred. On oppo` site sides of thevshaft45 and preferably adjacent the sides of the car are driven shafts 41 to 34, there being two of these driven shafts for operating each door and the carrier through each door.` Thus the shaft 41 is for operating .the door 55 of Fig. 7 or I5 (Fig. 2) at the left side of section II of the car, and shaft 5I)` is used for operating the carrier 23 through this door. In the same wayshaft 49 is `used for operating the door 56 on the opposite side of the car for this section in Fig. 'Z or door I5 on the right handside Fig. 2, and shaft 48 is used for operating the carrier through this door. same arrangement is used for the doors and carriers' for the other sections: Thus as shown in Fig. 7 shafts 5I and 54 are used respectively for operating the door 51 and the carrier through this door of the second section I2', while shafts '53 and 52 are used for operating door '58 on the opposite side and the carrier through this door.

The various shafts may be operated to open and close the various doors and move the carriers into and out of the various sections of the car yby the arrangement of drives shown in Fig. 7, although I am not limited to this arrangement as it may be modified or changed as is found desirable. The arrangement shown is simple and effective and easy to control, andby it the mechanism for operating a door of a section and the mechanism for shifting of a carrier through that door may be controlled with a single lever.

Thus the shaft 41 for operating the door 55 at the lower or left hand side of the first secv l tion II has a pair of drums 32 for the cables 29for operating the door, and the shaft 50 has drums 35 for operating the cables 34 for shifting the carrier 23 into and out of the car. 'I'he shaft 41 is driven by a'chain 59v running over,

sprockets '89 and 6I on shafts 45 and 41 respectively, the sprocket 6I being fastened on the shaft- 41 while sprocket 68 is loose on shaft 45.

Sprocket 60 has a female cone 62 adapted to beengaged by a male friction cone 63 splined to shaft 45 so as to turn with it but slidable on the shaft to and from engagement with cone 52.

Shaft 50 is driven by a similar chain 64 running over sprockets 65 and 88 on shafts 45 and 58 respectively, sprocket 65 being loose on shaft 45- while sprocket 66 is secured to shaft 50..

Sprocket 6,5 also has a female clutch cone 61 to be engaged by the cone 68 forming the other end of cone 53. Cones 83 and 5 8 may be shifted to and from the cones 82 and 61 by a forked lever 69 pivoted at 10 and' connected by a rod 1I to' a control lever. 12 at the end of the car. It will be seen when the cones 93- 68 are in the intermediate position neither sprocket will be driven,.,-but if lever 412 is thrown to the right cone 83 is engaged with cone 82 to drive sprocket 60 and shaft 41 to operate door 55. If lever 12 is thrown to the left from the-intermediate `position cone 68 will engage cone 61 to drive sprocket 85 and shaft 50 toshift the carrier into and out of the car as desired. The motor 44 will be controlled by a reversing switch controlled from the station at-the end of-"the car where the lever 12 is located so the shafts will be rotated in the proper direction to ope'n' or close the door, or to move the carrier into or out. of the car.

All ofthe other doors and carriersmay be to thus operate door 58 and the carrier through this door. In the same way lever 18 through rod y at its upper edge for that purpose.

19 will control clutch 80 to control operation of shafts 53 and 52, while lever 8l through yrocl 82 will control clutch 83 to control operation of shafts 5IV and 54. l

'I'he doors and carriers in the two sections I3 and I4 vat the other end of the car may be controlled by a similar mechanism with a motor, reversing switch, and the fourlevers corresponding to Ilevers 13, 12, 18 and 8| located at that end of the car for controlling similar clutches for driving the respective door and carrier operating shafts. Or if preferred the main drive shaft 4.5 may be extended the full length of the car and all the doorand carrier shafts driven from itV with all the control levers located at one end of the car.'

As indicated above this arrangement ofthev the clutch to release it at the end of the desiredV movement, such for' example as a cam geared to each drum shaft by reducing gearing, as indicated in Fig. '1a. In this figure 84 is a small gear on the shaft 41 meshing with a larger gear 85 carrying a cam 86 which after a\given movement engages the lever 99 in the dotted position to shift it to the intermediate position to release clutch 63.

In the arrangement shown i'n Figs. 4 and 5, the

door instead of having its two sections hinged together as in Figs. 2 and 3, comprises a lower section 81 pivoted or hinged to the car frame at 88 and an upper section 89 slidable from the top into the lower section 81 which is hollow and open Above the lower section are U-shaped guides 90 at the sides vof the door opening for the edges vof theupper section 89, and mounted on the edges of this section are rolls 9| running on the bottoms of these guides to facilitate movement of the upper section. These rolls also run on therend walls -92 of the lower section 81 when the upper section is lowered down into it.

Mounted on the inner wall of the lower section are rails in alignment with the rails 94 on the vfloor of the car for the .wheels of the' carrier v231:0 run on. These correspond to the rails 25a`nd v21 respectively of the arrangement of Figs. 2 and 3. However, in the arrangement of Figs. 4 and 5 rails 93 may be mounted on the' lower section 81 of the door so as to'move with it, and thus U-shaped or channelI members to guide the.

carrier wheels but may be of other forms.

Also, mounted on the lower door section are pulleys 91 over which cables 98 may run-from drums 32a on the door operating shaft 49 for the door on the opposite side of the car. These cables may carry hooks 99 to attach to the upper sections 89 of the door to raise it -from and lower it V into the lower section 81. After it is lowered into turn be lowered about its pivot 88 by cables |00 running from drums 32 on the door operating lshaft 41. When the door on the other or right hand side of the car is to be operated the upper door section is raised-and lowered byy cables while after the upper section is lowered the two sections may be swungv outwardly and controlled by cables |00a at that side of the car. If desired the other end of cable |00a after passing around the drum may also be connected to the door as shown at |00b but is not necessarily so. After the carrier is moved out or in the doors are raised about the pivot 88, and then the upper section 89 is raised from the lower section 81.

Also,v mounted on the lower door section, as for example by extension brackets |0|, are pulleys |02 over which run cables |03 which'may beV hooked into carrier 23 to shift it into and out of the car after the doors are lowered as shown at the left of Fig. 4, as described in connection with Figs. 2 and 3. The cables 03 are driven from the drums 35 on shaft 49.

In the form shown in Figs. 6 and 7 the doors are made in two sections |04 and |05 hinged together at- |06, while the lower section is hinged at its lower end to the car at |01 so that both may be swung down and outwardly to bridge the space between the car and the loading and unloading platform |08 as shown in Fig. 6. The door sections may be lowered without folding'the upper about the hinge |06 as shown in Fig. 6 or if desired this upper section may rst be folded downwardly about the hinges |06 against the outer side of the lower section |04 and then both sections lowered in thisI condition to the platform and form a bridge for movingthe carrier 23 with its freight container 22 to and from the car. For lowering the doors the cables 29 may be used and operated by the power mechanism under the floor of the car as above described. The attachment of this cable may be shifted between the two sections of the door as desired. For this purpose aligned guides |09 and I0 may be mounted on the inner sides of the door section in which a. shoe or block may slide and to which cables 34 are attached. When the doors are in raised or closed position this shoe is in the upper part of guide|09 but may be shifted to guides ||0 on the lower door section as shown in full lines before folding the upper section down onto the lower.

' Then the lowering of the doors may be controlled by the cable as it is thus secured to the lower section. If the door is to be lowered without folding then the shoe may be 4left in the upper guides |09 so as to be attached to the upper door section as shown in dotted lines. It is also moved to this position to raise the door to closed position.

In this construction there are rails ||2 preferably of channel sections on the iioor of the car for the wheels of the truck or carrier 23 and on the inner walls of the door are mounted similar rails 3 in alignment with rails ||2 for the carrier to run on over the door between the `car and the platform. 'I'he c'arrier may be drawn into and out of the car by cables 34 operated from the drums 35 of the power mechanism as previously described. The door may carry pulleys ||4 over-which these cables-may run in shifting th carrier from the car to the platform.

In Figs. 8 and 9 is shown still another arrangement. In this form the doors ||5 are made of a, series of slats IIB hinged together and the door may be slid vertically in guideways at their opposite edges intoA the top of the car. 'It

vlocation preferably at one end of the car.

may be shifted up and down by cable ||8 operated lover drums ||9 the same as cable 29, the opposite ends of the cableh ||9a and ||9b being connected to the lower portion of the door at |20. By operating the drums in opposite directions the door may be raised and lowered. As seen in Fig. 8 there is one of these doors on each side of .the car for each section of the car as in the forms previously described. This type of door may be used in place of the forms shown in Figs. 1 to '7 with the mechanism for moving the carrier for the freight container in and out of the car to and from the platform, except tha-t with this door a separate bridge member is required or pivoted rails like the rails 25 of Figs. 2 and 3 may be used for bridging the space between the car and the platform. Or as shown in Figs. 8 and 9 each section of the car may have an. endless movable floor |2`| vcomposed of sections |22 pivoted together and running over sprockets |23 at opposite sides of the car. This floor may be operated in opposite directions by mechanism similar to that used in the other forms for moving the carrier. That is a motor |24- driving shaft |25 through suitable gearing or chain drive which in turn drives one of the shafts |26 carrying the sprockets. This drive andoperation of doors ||5 may be controlled by the same system of clutches and control levers at an operators station at the end of the car the same as shown in Fig. 7. If desired this endless movable floorv one end of the movable floor is shown at |2| and a door in two hinged sections |04 and |05 like thatin Fig. 6 is shown and operated in the same manner,

Although the wheels or rollers on which the carrier 23V for the goods is shifted may -be on the carrier itself as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 10 they are not necessarily so. Thus as shown in Fig. 11 instead of having the wheels or rollers 24 on the carrier, rollers |21 may be mounted in suitable bearings |28 on the door itself in any of the forms shown in Figs. 1 to 10Aand also on the car floor. Thecarrier 23 can then be shifted into and out of the car over these rollers by the same mechanism as is used to shift the carriers with wheels or rollers on the carrier as shown in the other figures. The doors may also be raised and lowered by the same mechanisms. Ihe tracks for the carrier wheels may be omitted or the doors and the car floor may be provided with both the tracks and the rollers so las to accommodate carriers with wheels and carriers g to the door and its operating construction corresponding to that of Fig. 6, which has the tracks ||2 and ||3 but this is merely illustrative as the rollers |2'|'can be used with any of the arrangements of Figs. 1 to 10.

It will be 'clear from the above the doors for any section-of the car and on either side of the car can be operated by power mechanism controlled from a control station at any suitable Also, that when a door is open the carrier with its freight container can be moved into and out of l the same time. This greatly facilitates loading and unloading of a car as it can be accomplished in a short time, and as the freight may be in containers on a carrier which may be moved into and out of the car as a unit these units can be loaded with freight on the platform before the freight car arrives and unloaded on the platform after the car leaves, avoiding delays and also demurrage charges on the cars.

The various doors may be locked and secured in closed position by any suitable means. A

conventional locking bar 4for each door is shown' atV |21 in Fig. 1 pivoted to the intermediate post at i28 and swingable about said pivot to and from the hooked clasp |29 in which it may be sealed and locked in the conventional manner.

Having thus set forth the nature of my said invention, what I claim is:

n l. A railway freight car having a body including a side wall comprising a pluralityr of doors providing access to various sections of the car, means in each section for receiving and retaining a carrier for a container of goods, supporting means on the car at each section movable to and from a position projecting from the car to bridge the space between the car and a platform at the side of the car independently of mechanism on the platform, said supporting means being adapted to carry the carrier in either direction between the car and the platform, and mechanism located entirely on the car and connected to the carrier to completely move the carrier over said supporting means from the car to the platform and from the platform to the car.

2. A railroad freight car having a body including a side wall comprising a plurality of doors giving access to a plurality of sections of the car. means in each section for receiving a wheeled carrier for a container of goods, guide and supporting means for the carrier mounted on the car at each section and movable to and from a position projecting laterally from the side of the car to a platform at the side of the car, and power mechanism mounted wholly on the car connected to the carrier to run it over said supporting means from the car to the platform and to run the carrier over said supporting means from the platform to its section in the car.

3. A railroad freight car comprising a body including a side wall having a plurality of door openings giving access to a plurality of sections of the car, supporting means mounted on the car in alignment with each opening and movable to and from a position projecting laterally from the car to bridge the space between the car and a loading platform at the side thereof, said supporting means being adapted to carry a carrier for freight i rom the car to the platform and from the platform to the car, means mounted on the car at each section for completely shifting the carrier over the supporting means to the platform comprising a drum, a cable connected to the drum to be wound thereon, a guide for the cable mounted on said supporting means adjacent the outer end thereof so that the cable may lead from the drum over the guide to the carrier independently of the platform, and means for operating the drum to draw the cable around the guide to shift the carrier from the car over the supporting means to the platform. l

4. A railroad freight car comprising a body including a side wall having a plurality of door openings giving access to a plurality of sections of the car, supporting means mounted on the car located in alignment with each opening and movable to and from a position bridging the space between the car and a loading platform at oneside thereof `and adapted to support-individual carriers for freight to carry them from the car to the ,platform and from the platform to the car, carriers movable over said bridging means and through said openings to and from the car, and power means mounted wholly on the car and including means projecting laterally from the car to completely move the carriers over said supporting means to the carfrom the platform and from the car to the platform.

5. A railroad freight car comprising a body including a side wall having a plurality of door openings giving access to a Iplurality of sections of the car, tracks mounted on theY car and movable to a position in alignment with each opening projecting laterally from the car to bridge the space between the car and a loading` platform at one side thereof, said tracks being adapted to sup` port individual carriers for freight and carry them between the platform and the car, wheeled carriers movable over said tracks to and from the car, through said openings, containers for freight removably mounted on the carriers, and power means mounted wholly on the carand extending laterally therefrom to completely move the carriers to and from thel car from and to the platform. 4

HENRY C. IMA. 

